University communication

Chinese academic culture is title-first: professors are addressed as Surname + 老师 (or 教授 for full professors), and your thesis supervisor is your 导师 (dǎoshī) — students often call them 老板 ('boss') informally among themselves, but never to their face. Messages to teachers open politely (老师您好) and close with 谢谢老师; blunt, subject-line-only messages read as rude.

Most course logistics happen in WeChat groups rather than email. Reply promptly when named, keep group messages short, and take personal questions to private chat (私聊) instead of the group. When asking for help or a deadline extension, state the request briefly, apologize for the trouble (麻烦您了), and thank in advance — the polite frame matters more than a long justification.